Michael Rasmussen's Colnago Extreme-C mountain special

Almost every bike builder involved with the Tour has rolled out a new,
lightweight machine for this year's extremely hilly race. Colnago is no
exception, equipping Rabobank rider Michael "Chicken" Rasmussen with its
latest Extreme-C frame, the first sub-1000g frame from Colnago that will
actually be available for the rest of us to buy.

In the 2004 Tour de France, Cyclingnews was shown the prototype
of the Extreme-C, which was created for Rabobank to Michael Boogerd,
Levi Leipheimer and Michael Rasmussen to use for the l'Alpe d'Huez TT
stage. That C50 proto was an extremely light frame, but still respected
Colnago's rules about safety. When weighed before l'Alpe d'Huez, Leipheimer's
bike was well below the UCI weight limit of 6.8kg, so the Rabobank's mechanics
had to add some weight to the bike!

The new incarnation of the Extreme-C certainly seems to be doing the
job for Rasmussen, who is leading the polka-dot jersey mountains competition
in the Tour de France, and looking like a contender for the podium in
Paris.

Alex Colnago told Cyclingnews about the new frame. "Our new Extreme-C
is the perfect frame for riders asking a very light frame, especially
for climbing," he said by phone from Colnago's world HQ in Cambiago, Italy.
"We have the C50 as a the universal frame, for every type of riding. Our
Extreme-C was created for special riders, who are looking for the lightest
bike for the long, hard mountain climbs, where every gram is important."

Getting the weight down was therefore the first priority for the new
bike, but it had to be done right.

"We brought the weight of the Extreme-C below 1,000 grams in a medium
sloping size and have re-engineered this new model step by step from the
C50," said Colnago. "First, we use round carbon fiber tubing, which is
the best shape to keep the whole frame light. Since the lighter weight
reduced the overall stiffness of the frame, my uncle Ernesto Colnago created
new oversized, more rigid chainstays to increase power transmission for
those long, hard extreme climbs."

Not surprisingly, Rasmussen's exploits, including his
spectacular stage 9 solo victory in Mulhouse are a source of considerable
excitement in Cambiago. "We are very proud of Michael Rasmussen's performance
at the Tour and expect more from him in the stages to come," said Colnago.

According to Colnago, the first production Extreme-C framesets will be
available in very limited quantities in October 2006.

The 'big dog'
has had plenty of use over the last two weeks - and will get plenty more before Rasmussen gets to Paris..

The head-tube cluster.
As in most carbon frames, the head tube and lugs are one piece, a design that increases strength and decreases wight, but makes the frame more expensize as each size needs its own head tube.